NASA Distinguished Service Medal
The NASA Distinguished Service Medal is the highest award which may be bestowed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States. The medal may be presented to any member of the federal government, including both military astronauts and civilian employees. The NASA Distinguished Service Medal is awarded to those who display distinguished service, ability, or courage, and have personally made a contribution representing substantial progress to the NASA mission. The contribution must be so extraordinary that other forms of recognition would be inadequate. Typical presentations of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal included awards to senior NASA administrators, mission control leaders, and astronauts who have completed several successful space flights. Due to the prestige of the award, the decoration is authorized for wear on active uniforms of the United States military. Another such authorized decoration is the NASA Space Flight Medal. Upon the recommendation of NASA, the president may award an even higher honor to astronauts, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. The medal was original awarded by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and was inherited by NASA. The first NASA version (type I), featuring the NASA seal, was issued from 1959 until 1961, when it was replaced by the current type II medal (shown). Only three type I medals were awarded—to John W. Crowley, NASA Director of Aeronautical and Space Research; and Mercury astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr. and Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom. Recipients 1959 * John W. Crowley, Jr. (first award)Morris, John S. (1961) "President Will Give Medal to Astronaut", The New York Times, May 7, 1961. 1961 * Alan Shepard (May 8, 1961) * Virgil I. Grissom (July 22, 1961) 1962 * John Glenn * Wally Schirra (October 15, 1962) * Forrest S. Petersenhttp://www.mach-buster.co.uk/#/petersen-to-ridley/4532806536 – X-15 pilot 1963 * Gordon Cooperhttp://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKWHF-WHN15.aspx 1965 * Wally Schirra (December 30, 1965) 1968 * James Webb 1969 * William A. Anders * Frank A. Bogart * Carroll H. Bolender * Frank Borman * Robert E. Bourdeau * Eugene A. Cernan * Roger B. Chaffee * John F. Clark * Raymond L. Clark * Ozro M. Covington * Kurt H. Debus * Maxime A. Faget * Robert R. Gilruth * Harry H. Gorman * Virgil I. Grissom * Hans F. Gruene * George H. Hage * Wesley L. Hjornevik * Lee B. James * David M. Jones * Kenneth S. Kleinknecht * Christopher C. Kraft * James A. Lovell * George M. Low * Charles W. Matthews * Alexander A. McCool * James A. McDivitt * Jessie L. Mitchell * George E. Mueller * John E. Naugle * Edmund F. O'Connor * Rocco A. Petrone * Samuel C. Phillips * Joseph Purcell * Eberhard F. M. Rees * Ludie G. Richard * Arthur Rudolph * Julian W. Scheer * William C. Schneider * Russell L. Schweickart * David R. Scott * Robert C. Seamans * Willis H. Shapley * Albert F. Siepert * Donald K. Slayton * Thomas P. Stafford * Gerald M. Truszynski * Wernher von Braun * Hermann K. Weidner * Edward H. White * John J. Williams * John W. Young 1970 * Edwin E. Aldrin * Neil A. Armstrong * Alan L. Bean * Michael Collins * Charles Conrad * Richard F. Gordon * Fred W. Haise * James A. Lovell * Thomas O. Paine * John L. Swigert 1971 * Charles J. Donlan * James B. Irwin * Vincent L. Johnson * Walter J. Kapryan * Eugene F. Kranz * Bruce T. Lundin * Glynn S. Lunney * James A. McDivitt * Edgar D. Mitchell * Bernard Moritz * Dale D. Myers * Oran W. Nicks * Stuart A. Roosa * David R. Scott * Alan B. Shepard * Sigurd A. Sjoberg * John W. Townsend * Alfred M. Worden 1972 * Charles M. Duke * Paul Werner Gast * William R. Lucas * Hans M. Mark * Thomas K. Mattingly * Richard C. McCurdy * William T. Pecora * Dan Schneiderman * John W. Young 1973 * George W. S. Abbey * Alan L. Bean * Leland F. Belew * Charles A. Berry * Aleck C. Bond * Anthony J. Calio * Eugene A. Cernan * Aaron Cohen * Charles Conrad * Richard W. Cook * John H. Disher * Paul C. Donnelly * Ronald E. Evans * Arnold W. Frutkin * Owen K. Garriott * Ernst D. Geissler * Roy E. Godfrey * Robert H. Gray * George B. Hardy * Robert C. Hock * William P. Horton * S. Neil Hosenball * Roy P. Jackson * Richard S. Johnston * Joseph P. Kerwin * James E. Kingsbury * Jack A. Kinzler * Kenneth S. Kleinknecht * Joseph N. Kotanchik * Chester M. Lee * William E. Lilly * Jack R. Lousma * Owen G. Morris * Rocco A. Petrone * Isom A. Rigell * Miles Ross * George T. Sasseen * Harrison H. Schmitt * William C. Schneider * Richard G. Smith * Howard W. Tindall * Paul J. Weitz 1974 * Donald D. Buchanan * Gerald P. Carr * Walker E. Giberson * Edward G. Gibson * Charles F. Hall * Robert L. Krieger * Dale D. Myers * William R. Pogue * Norman Pozinsky * Martin L. Raines * Lee R. Scherer * John M. Thole * Robert F. Thompson 1975 * Vance D. Brand * Robert H. Curtin * M. P. Frank * Donald P. Hearth * Chester M. Lee * Glynn S. Lunney * Joseph B. Mahon * Ellery B. May * John L. McLucas * William Nordberg * George F. Page * Donald K. Slayton * Thomas P. Stafford * David Williamson 1976 * Charles J. Donlan * Isaac T. Gillam * Charles R. Gunn * William M. Lohse * Charles W. Mathews * John J. Neilon * Leonard Roberts * William R. Schindler 1977 * Edgar M. Cortright * Malcolm R. Currie * James C. Fletcher * Noel W. Hinners * Leonard Jaffe * Harriett G. Jenkins * Robert S. Kraemer * Bruce T. Lundin * Hans M. Mark * James S. Martin * John E. Naugle * Henry W. Norris * A. Thomas Young 1978 * Kenneth R. Chapman * Duward Crow * Robert H. Curtin * Marvin L. McNickle * David R. Scott * Milton O. Thompson * Gerald M. Truszynski 1981 *Robert L. CrippenAstronaut Bio: Robert L. Crippen (07\2001) *Paul C. Donnelly 1992 * Berrien Moore III * Mark Albrecht 1995 * Dr. Charles J. Pellerin 1996 * Gerald M. Smith 2000 * No awards 2001 * Jack Brooks * Claude Nicollier *Courtney Stadd * James S. VossJames Voss Joseph Philip Loftus Jr. April 2001 2002 * Scott E. Parazynski 2003 *Kalpana Chawla *William McCoolAstronaut Bio: William McCool 5/04 *Axel RothNASA Marshall Space Flight Center Honors Employees at Annual Awards Ceremony | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference 2004 * Lott W. Brantley Jr. * G. Scott Hubbard * Edward T. Lu 2007 *Douglas HendriksenNASA - Tampa Native Hendriksen Receives NASA Distinguished Service Medal 2008 * Walter Cunningham * Donn Eisele * Fuk Li * Walter Schirra * E. Myles Standish * Richard Sunseri 2009 *Christopher ScoleseChristopher Scolese Receives the NASA Distinguished Service Medal (200908120001HQ) | Flickr - Photo Sharing! * Stephanie D. Wilson 2010 * David K. Alonso * Scott D. Altman * John M. Grunsfeld * Kenneth M. Ford * Jeffrey M. Hanley * John T. James * Suresh M. Joshi * William H. Kinard * Steven J. Ostro * Mark L. Polansky * Frederick Sturckow * Jacob Trombka * David A. Wolf 2011 *Stephen K. Robinson *Richard Mushotzky *Daniel McCleese *Richard Fisher *Stephanie D. Wilson *James E. Fesmire 2012 * Byron Butler * Sam V. Digesu * Christopher J. Ferguson * David C. Folta * Michael E. Fossum * Mark E. Kelly * Alan J. Lindenmoyer * David M. Martin * Ann McNair * Robert R. Meyer * Martin G. Mlynczak * Philip E. Phillips * Craig L. Purdy * Daniel C. Reda * Joseph Savino * Phillip A. Sabelhaus * Peter J. Serlemitsos * Robert M. Stephens * Michael T. Suffredini * Richard Zurek }} 2016 See also *List of NASA awards References External links * NASA awards * National Aeronautics and Space Administration Honor Awards (1969-1978) Category:Awards and decorations of NASA Category:Awards established in 1959